# Alternatives to Metabase

Metabase is an open-source business intelligence platform for querying databases, building dashboards, and self-service data exploration via a visual query builder or SQL editor. The AGPL-licensed Open Source edition is free and self-hosted; paid Starter, Pro, and Enterprise editions add SSO, row-level permissions, embedding, and Git-based content sync on Metabase Cloud or self-hosted.

Metabase ranks #2 of 8 in Business intelligence, with an Alt Score of 89. It is licensed under AGPL, open source with paid hosting from $100/mo and available on the web. 12 of 12 checklist rows are verified against a public source.

Source: https://altcatalog.com/alternatives/metabase/
Category: Business intelligence

## Where Metabase stands out

- **Open source** — 4 of 8 apps with a verified answer have this

## Overview

- **Who it's for**: Teams that want self-service business intelligence: analysts who need a SQL editor, non-technical users who need a no-code query builder, and software companies that need to embed analytics inside their own products.
- **What you get**: A free, self-hostable open-source edition with dashboards, alerts, and a Data Studio semantic layer, or a paid Metabase Cloud / self-hosted Pro or Enterprise edition that adds SSO, row- and column-level permissions, embedding, and Git-based content sync.
- **How it works**: Metabase connects to databases and data warehouses, lets people build questions with a query builder or SQL editor, assembles them into dashboards, and can schedule alerts and subscriptions; Pro and Enterprise editions add governed embedding, granular permissions, and Remote Sync through Git.

## Profile

- **License**: AGPL (verified 2026-08-03)
- **Pricing model**: OSS + paid hosting (verified 2026-08-03)
- **Starts at**: $100/mo (verified 2026-08-03)
- **Platforms**: Web
- **Status**: active (verified 2026-08-03)

## Ranked alternatives

| # | App | Alt Score | Licence | Platforms |
|---|-----|-----------|---------|-----------|
| 1 | [Lightdash](https://altcatalog.com/alternatives/lightdash.md) | 93 | MIT (core); Source Available (enterprise ee/ module) | ? |
| 2 | [Apache Superset](https://altcatalog.com/alternatives/apache-superset.md) | 89 | Apache License 2.0 | Web |
| 3 | [Microsoft Power BI](https://altcatalog.com/alternatives/power-bi.md) | 89 | Proprietary | Windows, Web, iOS, Android |
| 4 | [Looker](https://altcatalog.com/alternatives/looker.md) | 78 | Proprietary | Web, iOS, Android |
| 5 | [Sigma](https://altcatalog.com/alternatives/sigma-computing.md) | 78 | Proprietary | Web |
| 6 | [Tableau](https://altcatalog.com/alternatives/tableau.md) | 78 | Proprietary | Windows, macOS, Linux, iOS |
| 7 | [Redash](https://altcatalog.com/alternatives/redash.md) | 59 | BSD-2-Clause | Web |

Alt Score = Verified coverage (90%) + Visibility (10%). See https://altcatalog.com/how-alt-score-works/

## Feature comparison

Legend: Yes / No / Partial / ? (not verified).

| Business intelligence checklist | Metabase | Lightdash | Apache Superset | Microsoft Power BI | Looker | Sigma |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pricing model | OSS + paid hosting | OSS + paid hosting | Free | Freemium | Subscription | Usage-based |
| Starts at | $100/mo | $3000/mo | Free | $14/user/mo | ? | ? |
| License | AGPL | MIT (core); Source Available (enterprise ee/ module) | Apache License 2.0 | Proprietary | Proprietary | Proprietary |
| Platforms | Web | ? | Web | Windows, Web, iOS, Android | Web, iOS, Android | Web |
| Self-hostable | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | No |
| Open source | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | No | No |
| SQL editor | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| No-code query builder | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Scheduled report delivery | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Embedded analytics | Yes | Partial | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Row-level security | Partial | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Data alerts | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Semantic layer | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Git version control | Partial | Yes | ? | Yes | Yes | No |
| SSO (SAML/OIDC) | Partial | Partial | Partial | Partial | Yes | Yes |
| Free tier | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | Yes |

## Sources

Sources for Metabase. Each alternative is sourced on its own page.

- **License**: AGPL — <https://raw.githubusercontent.com/metabase/metabase/master/LICENSE.txt> (verified 2026-08-03)
- **Pricing model**: OSS + paid hosting — <https://www.metabase.com/pricing.md> (verified 2026-08-03)
- **Starts at**: $100/mo — <https://www.metabase.com/pricing.md> (verified 2026-08-03)
- **Platforms**: Web — <https://www.metabase.com/docs/latest/installation-and-operation/supported-browsers> (verified 2026-08-03)
- **Status**: active — <https://github.com/metabase/metabase/releases/tag/v0.63.2> (verified 2026-08-03)
- **Self-hostable**: Yes — <https://www.metabase.com/start/oss/> (verified 2026-08-03)
- **Open source**: Yes — <https://raw.githubusercontent.com/metabase/metabase/master/README.md> (verified 2026-08-03)
- **SQL editor**: Yes — <https://www.metabase.com/features/sql-editor> (verified 2026-08-03)
- **No-code query builder**: Yes — <https://www.metabase.com/features/query-builder> (verified 2026-08-03)
- **Scheduled report delivery**: Yes — <https://www.metabase.com/pricing.md> (verified 2026-08-03)
- **Embedded analytics**: Yes — <https://www.metabase.com/product/embedded-analytics> (verified 2026-08-03)
- **Row-level security**: Partial — <https://www.metabase.com/pricing.md> (verified 2026-08-03)
- **Data alerts**: Yes — <https://www.metabase.com/docs/latest/questions/alerts> (verified 2026-08-03)
- **Semantic layer**: Yes — <https://www.metabase.com/product/data-studio> (verified 2026-08-03)
- **Git version control**: Partial — <https://www.metabase.com/docs/latest/installation-and-operation/remote-sync> (verified 2026-08-03)
- **SSO (SAML/OIDC)**: Partial — <https://www.metabase.com/docs/latest/people-and-groups/authenticating-with-saml> (verified 2026-08-03)
- **Free tier**: Yes — <https://www.metabase.com/start/oss/> (verified 2026-08-03)

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Ranked by verified data, never by who paid. https://altcatalog.com/trust/